Cory Chisel passing the torch to The Wishbone Breakers

May 5, 2010

Written by

Kasey Steinbrinck

Post-Crescent staff writer

What’s up with Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons?

The Wishbone Breakers won’t be the only group getting a major opportunity Friday. Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons have been holding a YouTube contest, and the winner also gets to take the stage inside the chapel.

“We’re giving people the opportunity to do covers of our tunes so we can see the other talent that’s out there,” Chisel said.

Contestants uploaded their version of one of the group’s songs and the winner is being chosen based on user comments and ratings.

Friday night’s performance will also mark the release of “Death Won’t Send a Letter” on vinyl, and there will be CDs of the band’s self-released 2007 album “Little Bird.” Chisel told fans on Facebook who won’t be able to attend the show that “Little Bird” may also be re-released on iTunes in the near future.

A new album may be in the works for Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons before 2010 is over. Chisel said he’s been able to spend some time working on the next big project while at home in the Fox Valley.

“Right now, I’m just kind of down in the mind looking around seeing what’s down there,” Chisel said. “I’m sitting on like six demos in my car, and there will probably be like 600 more before I feel like it’s time to start recording.”

But Chisel says he expects to be in the studio sometime this fall.

Chisel and company also picked up a little buzz in the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine (the one with Robert Downey Jr. on the cover). Melissa Etheridge names the band as some of the best new music she’s discovered.

If you go

What: Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons with The Wishbone BreakersWhere: Lawrence Memorial Chapel, AppletonWhen: 7 p.m. FridayTickets: $15 in advance, $20 at the doorOnline: www.brownpapertickets.comBonus: If you can’t make Friday’s show at Lawrence, Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons will also be at the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay on Saturday. The Wishbone Breakers have a gig coming up at Harmony Café in downtown Appleton on May 16.

When Chisel and the Wandering Sons play a concert Friday night inside Lawrence University’s Memorial Chapel, they’ll share the spotlight with the Crowes and their band, The Wishbone Breakers.

Luke and Ryley are at the heart of the folk-rock band that has caught the eye — and ear — of Chisel. At ages 19 and 17, respectively, they are in the teen-band conundrum — lots of talent and energy but no place to play — that the 28-year-old Chisel recognizes from his days in Appleton a decade ago.

“I just recognized a similar drive in them … something I saw in myself,” Chisel said. “As long as I’ve known these guys they’ve had more projects than I could count.”

Along with Ryley on drums and Luke on acoustic guitar, The Wishbone Breakers includes bass player Zack Warpenski of De Pere and Chicago native Mark Hirsh, who attends Lawrence and plays electric guitar in the band. The latest Crowe brothers’ creation has been taking shape leading up to Friday’s show.

“We just added Mark a couple months ago,” Ryley said. “We’re trying to build him into the band and trying to build our sound.”

That sound was something that impressed Chisel, and was actually encouraged through the Crowe brothers’ schooling. Ryley attends the Renaissance School for the Arts, housed at Appleton West High School, and Luke graduated from the program last year. It is one of 15 charter schools in the Appleton Area School District, allowing students to focus on specific areas of interest.

Originally, Luke Crowe’s main artistic focus was his love of drawing. But his interest widened, partly because of the charter school program.

“I wouldn’t have been getting into music if it wasn’t for the school because it kind of opened my eyes to taking chances,” Luke said.

Chisel, who has been touring around the United States and Europe since releasing “Death Won’t Send a Letter” on RCA’s Black Seal label last year, was invited to be a guest clinician and teach master classes at Renaissance. He was impressed with the caliber of talent, but also felt a bit of jealousy. The charter school started shortly after Chisel left the Appleton school system.

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“I was always a little envious of the program,” Chisel admitted. “I had great English teachers, great theater teachers, great choir teachers, but school as a whole just didn’t fit my needs.”

Besides their schooling, the Crowe brothers also have learned from each other. Their parents had brushes with music. Ryley said his dad sang in barbershop quartets and his mom played snare drum in high school. But things really took off thanks to oldest brother Jake. He was first in the family to attend the Renaissance School for the Arts and is currently studying saxophone performance at Lawrence. Luke and Ryley said they followed in Jake’s musical footsteps, and now their younger brother, Antone, is doing the same.

Apparently, sibling rivalry isn’t an issue for The Wishbone Breakers. Both Ryley and Luke said being brothers and playing together makes the creative process even easier.

“We’re on the same page,” Luke said. “We don’t even have to talk sometimes. We just know what’s up.”

“Luke writes songs like crazy,” added Ryley. “He came up to me one day and was like, ‘I got nine new Wishbone songs.’ He’s a poet.”

“Rather than being influenced by a particular style, they’re influenced by each other,” Chisel said.

He thinks that’s what gives The Wishbone Breakers an original sound.

The Crowe brothers have put together other bands, including MoonBox as well as Scotty and the Snowmachines. So Chisel was familiar with the family operation before working with Renaissance and inviting the brothers to join him on stage Friday.

“There’s a lot of insane natural talent that runs in their family,” Chisel said. “I didn’t even know what version of the band I would be getting by asking the Crowe boys to do it. I just know that every time I’ve seen them it’s been good.”

Chisel can relate to the Crowe brothers current struggles. The Wishbone Breakers are able to get gigs at coffee shops such as Harmony Cafe and Copper Rock in Appleton or Rock Island and The Hub in Neenah. But being under the age of 21, they are limited to those types of venues. It wasn’t too long ago that Chisel was in the same boat.

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“Appleton has always been a tough town to play in if you can’t drink,” Chisel said. “Ten years ago I was sitting in my house being like, ‘What the hell do I do now? There’s cover bands in this town and I can’t get into bars.’”

That’s why Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons are reaching out to young artists and giving them their shot. For Chisel, it’s part of paying his debt to a community of fans that always cheered him on.

“The idea of doing shows at places like Lawrence and Cranky Pat’s is always to be focused on the community that we were fostered in,” Chisel said. “We were really supported by our fans and it’s our turn to expose the young artists now. We have the ability to put them on a stage that they have every right to be on.”

As fans of Chisel themselves, Luke and Ryley Crowe think the show at Lawrence is definitely a big break for The Wishbone Breakers.

“This is really exciting for us,” Luke said. “We’ve been watching him for a long time.”

But Chisel is pretty excited about the concert as well.

“We want people to come out and see this Appleton family sing-along thing that we’re going to do,” he said. “We’re gonna make something cool out of it.”